//------------------------------// // Chapter 33 // Story: My Little Pony: Morphing is Magic // by Tricondon //------------------------------// Chapter 33 Illusion I was looking over the edge of the ship. I’d never admit it to them, but these ponies had to be very smart to build something that could fly like this. Of course, there was no need for Changelings to build a flying machine since we all had wings to begin with, but one could still be awed all the same. As the purple unicorn had thought the joined magic of her and the Andalites were greatly assisting in our travel to the Hive. The Hive. Once again I found myself wondering if this was right. Yes, I hated the Yeerks, but if these ones come to the Hive, they could do worse damage. I overheard the Yeerks talking a few times about the Andalites, how they kill both Yeerk and host without mercy. I heard of how, in the past, they unleashed deadly viruses to kill hosts so Yeerks could not claim them. Was this to be what awaited my Hive? Was I leading a worse threat to my home? Yeerks have the queen. Without her nothing matters. Without her, Hive is not home. And even if we do get rid of the Yeerks, what then? I’m leading outsiders to the Hive. I’ll be shunned, cast out. Abandoned. I sighed in frustration. Doing nothing meant I would lose my home. Bringing help meant I would break all the laws of the Hive. Either way, I lose. “Yo, Illy! Are we still headed the right way?” The voice of the cyan pony cut into my thoughts and I wearily trudged back to the helm. “Yes? What is it?” “We’re still on course, right? This old thing tends to bank to the left a little, like one of the fins is out of alignment.” She gripped the wheel in both hooves, using it to prop herself up and see over. Despite the danger I knew she knew we were flying towards, she had the look of pure joy on her face. I looked forward, marking the positioning of several mountains and did a quick calculation in my head. “You too far right. Head towards Border Mountains. One on left that look like Queen’s horn.” “Too far right, huh? Guess I’m overcompensating for the left-drag. Tsk, such a beginner’s mistake.” She fluttered her good wing in annoyance as the ship slowly righted itself. “Still, we’re making good time. Guess Twi and the Prince are working out well.” I said nothing, staring to look ahead when she reached over and nudged me. “Hey, it’s considered rude to ignore somepony like that.” “I not ignore. I listen,” I said indignantly. “But you didn’t say anything. You just kept quiet.” “Why talk? You say what I know.” I continued staring out at the mountains. “Besides, drones not supposed to say more than needed. Drone supposed to work.” “Geez, being a Changeling must suck then.” “No. Drones very important,” I retorted. “Without drones, there is no Hive.” “Yeah? What do you do then?” “Repair, add to, and maintain Hive mostly. Also assist Soldiers in odd situations.” “And you never need to talk to others? Or is everything you say always so industrial? ‘Need to shore up this tunnel here. I’ll provide rear support. East entrance collapsed’.” Her tone had become light and airy in what I assume was meant to be a joking manner. “No. I still talk. Talk when repairs not needed.” I paused for a moment. “Like when ponies not working. You talk.” “Yeah? What do you talk about?” She was clearly taunting me by this point. “Talk about how Hive is maintaining. How food supply is. How weather fares.” There was a long pause before she spoke again. “Do Changelings control the weather around your Hive?” “No,” I said. As the pegasus was about to speak again something about the placement of the mountains caught my eye. “Slow down. We close!” The pegasus slowed down and scanned the ground. “What’re you talking about? There’s nothing out there.” “Hive near. I know. Mountains tell me. They look down on Hive, see?” She stared out at the mountains. “No.” “Faces of mountain watch the Hive when sun is near horizon,” I explained. “That how we know we close.” “I just see rocks, but I guess you’d know better than me. Wanna go get the others?” I gave a quick nod and left the injured pegasus for the lower levels of the ship. It was easy to find the purple unicorn and her Andalite doppelganger as they worked in the engine room. She looked up as I entered, concern written clearly on her face. “What’s wrong? Why are we slowing down?” “Hive in sight,” I replied. “We need prepare.” “Alright,” the Prince said. “We’ll get the others and meet you up on deck.” I lowered myself down on one knee and bowed to the prince with my nose nearly touching the ground, assuming the standard submissive pose my Queen preferred before the Yeerks came. Both he and the purple unicorn gave me odd looks. “By your leave, my Prince.” I waited the customary ten seconds for further orders, and with only silence I quickly stood and left. It didn’t take long for the other Andalites and ponies to answer the prince’s call, and soon they had all gathered on the main deck to await instructions. During the time they got themselves organized I had my eyes locked on the Yeerk in the filly’s body. No part of me was able to realize why these ponies were keeping it with them. What’s more, they even defended it on several occasions. I unconsciously rubbed my side in remembrance of my most recent attempt on the filly. “Alright,” the Prince said loudly, catching everyone’s attention. “Illusion says that we’re near the Hive. If anyone wants to bail, now’s the time.” No one spoke, which I took to mean they had the utmost faith in their Prince’s judgment. It was rather unnerving how similar both ponies and Andalites deferred to their royalty like Changelings did. “Alright then,” the Prince began. “With that out of the way we can go over the plan.” “You’d better make it quick, Prince Jake,” the Andalite disguised as the pink pony said. “Our vessel is sure to be spotted within such close proximity to the Hive.” “Agreed. Now, Illusion is going to have to guide us through the Hive itself—” “Uh, guys,” the drake shouted. He was poised on the edge of the ship and staring out at the ground. “We’ve got trouble!” Curious, I hurried over and peered over myself. Immediately I felt my hearts sink. Anywhere between twenty and thirty of my Changeling brothers were moving through the air towards our flying craft. Looking into each of their eyes I could not find the normal willingness to serve and protect the Hive. Instead I saw conquest and ambition flowing forth like when water burst through one of our weakened walls in the last violent storm. “Oh geez! Rainbow, get back to the helm! Get us out of here!” the Prince shouted, turning towards the blue pegasus. His voice had scarcely died out when a horrific sound filled the air, like something metallic echoing off the mountain sides. Moments later a fireball flew between my enslaved brethren, scattering them in surprise. When it died away a majestic bird was hovering in its place. Its feathers were the colour of fire and the air around it was shimmering from the heat of its attack. “Tobias?!” the Andalite disguised as the cyan pegasus cried. “I say he should’ve gone for the gold and found himself a full-grown dragon,” the white unicorn next to me muttered. “What do we do, Jake?” the Andalite disguised as the orange pony asked. I found it unusual that she didn’t use his title, but perhaps in battle one’s mind can become jumbled. “We don’t have time to land. We keep them thinking we’re in the air.” The Prince ran to the side and shouted at the phoenix — or rather, the Andalite disguised as a phoenix. “Tobias, give us some cover!” He swung around, looking at each of us in turn. “Alright. Twilight, Marco, Rachel, Illusion, Applejack, and Ax. You’re with me. The rest of you, stay on board and keep them distracted.” “Hold on there, pardner. Are you suggestin’ that we jump off this thing? While it’s still in the air?” The orange pony asked, baffled. “Ah ain’t exactly a pegasus you know.” “Leave that to me,” the purple unicorn said. “I can protect us on the way down.” “You thinking about that shield spell?” Prince Jake asked. “No, something better,” she said while quickly leading our group to the edge of the ship. Looking over the side I could see we were still too far to land without injury. Well, I could always drop my disguise and fly, but I doubted I was strong enough to lift any of them. At least the ponies, since Andalites can just morph and fly down. I considered dropping my disguise and flying to safety, but I dismissed the idea as quickly as it came. As a drone I rarely have to fly; during the flight to Canterlot that I had made in our first attempt to take control I was among some of the scavengers and collector Changelings, the ones who were often sent out to collect food and building material. They were stronger fliers and helped me and some other drones in the long flight. I briefly had time to wonder what sort of spell the Andalites were using to communicate telepathically when his voice returned. His ‘voice’ had just barely faded when I was suddenly blinded by an intense light. I instinctively shut my eyes and buried my face in my hooves, but no sooner had I done that then something pushed me from behind and I felt the sickening sensation of free-fall. I was terrified. I wanted to scream, but the rush of wind past my head stole any sound I tried to make. I was still blinded by whatever that Andalite had done so I couldn’t even see how close the ground was getting. I shut my eyes tightly — ignoring how useless the action was due to my blindness — and braced myself for the inevitable and sudden stop... ...only to have my stomach do even more flip-flops as I felt the curious tingle of magic wash over my body and my descent slowed. Not long after I felt solid ground beneath my hooves and the magic went away. My legs buckled and I collapsed to the ground, panting heavily and resisting the urge to vomit. “That was awesome! Let’s never do it again.” The voice came from my right. I turned and blinked rapidly, my vision beginning to return, and soon could make out a white unicorn. An Andalite, if I recalled correctly. “Andalite right,” I agreed. “Not jump again.” Moments later I heard the sound of others landing on the earth around me, and soon all seven of us had gathered together in the ship’s shadow. Once they’d all shaken off the feeling of freefall I began leading them carefully along the ground, taking care not to alert the warriors above of our arrival. “Um, Illusion? I’m noting a distinct lack of any Hive around here. All I see is flat empty ground,” one of the Andalites asked. “Hive here. Hidden.” From up ahead I could see a shimmer in the air; it would be almost impossible to find unless you knew what to look for. Prince Jake ran up beside me and we walked through the barrier together. He gave a gasp and stopped in his tracks, gawking at the surroundings. “Spell protects entrance from sky. Can’t see until close,” I explained, taking a moment to look into the hole in the ground that led to the Hive. I was nervous about leading outsiders any further, but I suppose from this point on I was in it all the way. “Woah, was not expectin’ that.” “Man, these Changelings are good at hiding.” “Incredible! I wonder if it’s a static shield coupled with illusion magic, or maybe the Hive gives off residual energy...” “Keep voices down. Guards stationed everywhere,” I explained. “Move fast and follow me.” Without waiting for a response I crouched low to the ground and took off as quickly as I could, disappearing down the hole and back into my Hive.